Showing Straight Along a Crooked Road by Marilyn Cram Donahue

"A novel about pioneering in the 19th century America. In 1851, when the Hamilton family left for Vermont, 14-year-old Luanna had to leave her friends, school, and plans behind. It took the family two and a half years to reach its destination, San Bernadino, California. The domestic details along the way are well described." - The New York Times
Fourteen-year-old Luanna Hamilton is heartbroken when her father announces they are heading for California as soon as spring arrives. It is 1850 and, for Luanna, Midford Falls, Vermont has everything she could ever want. She loves the covered bridge on the quarry road, the waterfall at the mill pond, the old schoolhouse, the taste of the cold cider. How can she leave all these things behind? Even more, how can she leave when it means not being able to enter the Essex Female Academy in the fall? Or, when it means leaving her best friend behind?
Over the next two and one-half years, Luanna’s views on life change dramatically. Personal hardship, and the sheer magnitude of the journey west teach her to live each moment to the fullest. She learns that her life will only be as good as she makes it, regardless of where she might be.